Hyundai Construction Wins 6.4 Trillion Won 'Amiral Project' in Saudi Arabia... Largest Ever Contract

On the 24th (local time), the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 25th that Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720) held a contract signing ceremony for the $5 billion (6.4 trillion KRW) 'Amiral Petrochemical Plant' project with Aramco in Saudi Arabia.

The Amiral project is a petrochemical plant construction project promoted by Aramco in the Jubail area of eastern Saudi Arabia, aimed at building facilities to produce petrochemical products such as ethylene.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong (center back) and Hyundai Construction President Yoon Young-jun (front right), among others, attending the contract signing ceremony for the Amiral Petrochemical Plant Project in Saudi Arabia on the 24th (local time).
[Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]

This project is the largest among the projects our companies have won in Saudi Arabia so far. As a result, the overseas construction orders for domestic construction companies in the first half of this year have exceeded $13.7 billion, surpassing last year's order record of $12 billion.

The Amiral project is the largest petrochemical complex construction project ordered by Saudi national oil and natural gas company Aramco. It is located in Jubail, 70 km northwest of Dammam, the center of Saudi oil fields, and is integrated with the existing SATORP (Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company), a joint refinery between Saudi Aramco and France's TotalEnergies.

The project includes the construction of facilities that produce basic hydrocarbons such as ethylene and propylene by utilizing various grades of low-value raw materials generated during crude oil refining, as well as state-of-the-art polyethylene production facilities, butadiene extraction facilities, and other infrastructure.

It converts naphtha and waste gases emitted from the SATORP refinery, as well as ethane and natural gasoline supplied by Aramco, into high value-added chemical substances, and plans to supply raw materials to petrochemical and specialty chemical plants in the Jubail industrial complex.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction will carry out the construction of packages 1 and 4 in this mega project. Package 1 involves building the MFC (Mixed Feed Cracker), the core of the Amiral project, a facility that produces 1.65 million tons of ethylene annually, known as the "rice of the chemical industry," by utilizing process by-products. Package 4 includes the construction of facilities such as infrastructure, tanks, and shipment facilities that produce high value-added chemical substances.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction won the project in a turnkey contract covering the entire process of design, procurement, and construction. This reflects recognition of Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s world-class technology and excellent capabilities in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), reaffirming that superior quality is the best competitiveness and marketing.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Engineering & Construction has built a long-standing trust relationship by successfully completing numerous petrochemical and gas plant projects ordered by Aramco, including the Yanbu offshore liquefied natural gas plant berth construction in 1979, the Khurais gas processing facility, the Karan gas processing facility, and the Uthmaniyah ethane recovery facility.

Additionally, Hyundai Engineering & Construction has further strengthened mutual cooperation by executing the $2.8 billion Majan Development Packages (6 and 12), the Zafurah utility and auxiliary facilities construction, and the Shahin project, the largest in the domestic petrochemical industry.

A Hyundai Engineering & Construction official said, “Since entering the Saudi construction market in 1975, Hyundai Engineering & Construction has been stably executing large-scale projects based on the trust of the Saudi government and clients. With the recent expansion of the cooperative foundation between the two countries through government-level economic diplomacy, we will successfully carry out the Amiral project and further solidify the position of K-Construction in the Saudi region.”